Subway Series Preview and Historical Look

Memorial Day kicks of a new era in the Subway Series. Instead of playing two non-consecutive series in each team’s ballpark, the Yankees and Mets will now play a four-game home-and-home series to determine bragging rights.

Since the Subway Series was first played in 1997, the Yankees have won 54 of the 90 contests (58 of 95 including the 2000 World Series), which have comprised eight series victories, including one sweep, against two defeats and six draws. At Yankee Stadium, the Bronx Bombers have won 29 games, while in Flushing, they’ve come out on top 25 times, giving the pinstripes the edge in both boroughs.

There aren’t many players on either active roster who have much experience in the Subway Series. On the Mets side, only David Wright has played in a meaningful number of games, while for the Yankees, Robinson Cano is now the series’ elder statesman with so many of his teammates watching from the disabled list. Because of the turnover on both teams, this year’s showdown will be more about introducing new players to the rivalry than renewing old acquaintances. In particular, Matt Harvey’s debut against the Yankees will likely be the week’s seminal event, and the scheduled match-up against Hiroki Kuroda should help compensate for some of the waning interest that has resulted since the Mets fell on hard times.

As the Mets and Yankees get set to write another chapter in the Subway Series, it’s always nice to look back. So, in honor of next week’s cross-town showdown, below is historical look at both team and individual performances. In addition to the results on the field, a historical look at ticket prices is also provided by TiqIQ, which, as a new partner of the Captain’s Blog, has lots of affordable seats available to the upcoming four games.

History of the Subway Series, 1997-2012 (click to enlarge)

Note: Includes 2000 World Series. Blue in the chart above represents years when the Yankees won more than 50% of the season series. Orange represents when the Mets won more than 50%. When the season series was split, a gray area is visible. The individual team winning percentage trend lines encompass all games played and are only visible when above .500.Source: Baseball-reference.com